Voluntary CP Registry by CPASDPakistan

A free Technology can be an only Ray of Hope for many with CP/disability

WhenWe at Step-Up Pakistan decided to spread awareness about CP in Pakistan ,Time to time We are going to share Few of our very heart touching stories during our voluntary CP registry in Pakistan.

We saw a need to set up a database, it was a huge task and now it seems even bigger than before, but a one little advertisement in a Sunday NEWS paper brought so much response from allover Pakistan that it made our commitment to this cause more stronger.

It is rural or city, educated or uneducated desperation and the helplessness of families with CP or ASD like disabilities is not much different, ...We asked a few basic facts and reached to surprising common scenarios in these cases ;

Most kids were born in hospitals or hospital like clinics (instead of an expected at home traditional birth),even in smaller towns.

Most of the kids faced oxygen deficiency at birth, or cried late.

Most delayed development was noticed by families within first year of birth.

Most parents repeatedly consulted doctors, even travelled from their towns to big cities.

Most families were not given enough information about the condition or the need of intervention and therapy was emphasised.

None of the families were receiving any social welfare income like Social Security/ Khidmat card, despite their disability.

Most parents can not give their kids required nutritional supplement, therapy,diapers and struggle for medicine , however they feel ashamed and have too much pride to ask or complain about not getting stipend etc.

Only parents with more educated back grounds understand their child's condition, however lack of awareness , guidance and system holds them back or make them to think about migration, to developed countries.

Families which are privileged and educated enough to get information still struggle and usually get disappointed in getting rehabilitative and sincere medical guidance especially if they are in remote towns.

A simple word like CP is not given to them. These parents are ignored and mislead ,to a level of criminal negligence.

NOTE: It is not about cure and treatment , frustration is due to negligence of medical doctors at the time of birth, or later not intervening when delay happens, irony of the health care situation is cold and criminal, despite a net work of big specialised children hospitals under government, with supposedly free treatment parents have to spend huge amount of money on doctors visits, to specialists and children hospitals, they are not briefed about the condition, need for therapy, or rehabilitative services no suggestions to followup were made, prescriptions are written in English with technical terms which only a medical professional can understand.

When a father of 6 years old boy

with delayed development and an un-diagnosed disability is told his story of struggle in sheer frustration , in this case this poor father was fooled for 5 years , from expensive tests to over the counter tonics were to fix their child who was developmentally delayed since his infancy

When a father of a 12 years old girl asks for guidance ,

She cant talk, sit or walk, Her life is limited to a bed, no formal assessment is done, she never had any therapy yet, apparently she understands every thing but never given chance to get education,or speech assessment..... Unfortunately this family lives in a small town of #Sindh which is not much ready for rehabilitative services yet.

Recently launched"Sight-Seeing Lahore Bus Service" are a great compliment to a city which have history and modernity both. Since the start of this service it's been talk of the town and not only tourists locals loved the concept of a Double Decker and exploring their city with a new perspective. According to new SDG goals disability and inclusion are essential part of development . Lahore is quick on change and development under CM Shehbaz , in recent years we have seen "Lahore Metro" bus service which changed lives for many mobility wise, how ever as we are talking about accessibility it should start from the bottom, we have to include who are in most difficulty than an average person who can ride a bike , Rikshaw, or walk, our wheel chair bound population are more dependant on mass transport for their daily mobility and dignified living, the new tour bus is better equipped for wheel chair persons, but Metro bus still have to provide accessible lift fo…